Allstate Corp Invests $1.13 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,441 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,132,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 2,664 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 15,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 3,231 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,575 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 2,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $155.72 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.69. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $163.30. The firm has a market cap of $43.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total transaction of $1,367,913.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at $470,329.20. This represents a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $793,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. The trade was a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685 in the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.79.

Yum! Brands Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division segments. It also operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.